Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Farmers’ plea as supermarkets leave them ‘on their knees’
Farming and food lobbyists have sent an open letter to the biggest supermarkets urging them to treat suppliers more fairly, claiming that agriculture is “on its knees”.
The letter, written to chief executives of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl, claims that the supermarkets’ buying practices are “all too often imbalanced, short term and wasteful” leaving farmers “struggling to survive”.
The letter is backed by more than 100 signatories including the industry bodies Sustain and The Soil Association, the chefs Rick Stein and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the nature programme maker Ray Mears and the presenters Julia Bradbury and Jimmy Doherty.
Million Scottish people missing from electoral register
Up to one million people in Scotland are missing from the electoral register or incorrectly registered, meaning almost a fifth of the electorate are ineligible to vote.
Young people, private renters and those who have recently moved home are most likely to be affected, according to research published in The Times.
The study found that proportionally fewer eligible voters in Scotland were registered compared with other parts of the UK.
The Electoral Commission, an independent body which oversees elections and commissioned the research, warned the system needed “urgent reforms” to allow people to register more easily.
Food trolleys back on Aberdeen trains – but booze still banned
ScotRail will reintroduce food trolleys onto its routes this week, but alcohol remains off the menu.
The P&J reports that while food trolleys will carry snacks and soft drinks, booze is banned.
Alcohol was completely banned on ScotRail trains during Covid in 2020. Last July the train operator announced the ban would be in force for the “foreseeable future”.
Saudi Arabia defends oil supply cuts as prices hit fresh high
Opec’s leader claims its massive oil production cuts are no different to the actions of central banks, as oil prices hit a fresh 10-month high.
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Monday defended Opec+ cuts to global supply as the price of Brent crude approached $95 per barrel.
Oil prices have surged by more than 30% since late June and are at their highest level since November 2022, following extended supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia, which leads the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Nations cartel, surprised markets by extending its 1m barrels per day supply cut, which began in July, until the end of the year.
Post Office scandal victims offered £600,000 compensation
Post Office workers who have had wrongful convictions for theft and false accounting overturned are to be offered £600,000 each in compensation, the government has said.
But Harjinder Butoy, who served 18 months in prison, said: "It's not enough".
Around 700 prosecutions of branch managers may have received evidence from faulty accounting software. The fault made it look like money was missing from their sites.
The BBC says 86 convictions have been overturned. The Post Office minister said the sum was offered with "no ifs or buts".
Social media platform X could go behind paywall
Elon Musk has suggested that all users of X, formerly called Twitter, may have to pay for access to the platform.
In a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the billionaire said a payment system was the only way to counter bots.
"We're moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the system," the Tesla and SpaceX boss said.
The BBC approached X for further details but has not yet received a statement from the company.
UK broadcasters to launch joint streaming TV app as end of terrestrial nears
The BBC and other broadcasters will launch a free internet-based smart TV platform next year, bringing the end of terrestrial broadcast a step closer.
Programmes from the BBC, as well as ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, will be available via a consolidated online service that will be available from 2024.
The platform, named Freely, will also allow viewers to stream on-demand content from all four broadcasters straight from their smart TV.
It comes as broadcasters prepare for an online-only future, which could exclude millions of households that still rely on terrestrial.
The BBC’s director general Tim Davie has previously said the BBC could switch off broadcasts from TV towers by the end of the decade.